Any words of wisdom for a lost and confused Canuck? :)

[SquareWheels]

I went to a Canadian University, recently graduated and according to the calculations on AADSAS, I only have a 3.06 and 3.0 Ogpa and Sgpa, respectively (damn you linear algebra F! Lol) I am writing the Canadian Dat this fall and perhaps in the spring as well if necessary. I'm basically taking the year off to get research experience and build my ECs, as well as making sure I can kill the DAT as I have months of study time.

My case is a bit peculiar. In my first year I did terrible with a GpA of only about 2.0. While not the only reason, I did have some medical issues as I acquired mono once and strep throat twice in a 6 month span. For my second year, I was doing very well and holding an A average when near the end of November I was a victim of an attack by a fellow drunken student while walking home, suffering multiple injuries including a broken jaw that had to be shut tight for 8 weeks. I only missed a few days of school and finished my exams, however doing poorly ( about a B/B- average).

At this point I decided that if I was going to stay in school I better make it worth it, and I finally turned the corner a bit and pulled off a 3.5 in third year and a 3.9 in my last year, with all science courses.

I'm going to be applying to Canada this year ( zero chance) but for next summer I plan on getting my app in the first day available for the states as well as applying to Australia. I also plan on pursuing a one year masters next summer to boost my marks.

My question for you fine folks is if dental schools will cut me some slack considering my situation? Im not looking for any sort of handout, I just was wondering if anyone else here has ever been in this sort of scenario and how they dealt with it/faired. Do I really have any chance at getting in? What schools would perhaps be my best bet apart from the usual suspects BU and NYU that accept a lot of internationals? Any words you can give me both positive and negative are welcome. And if you got this far into reading this without closing the page, thanks

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[bluesprite13]

I am sorry to hear that. It is very unfortunate, but I am glad you are doing better.
1. I recommend a post-bacc program to bring your GPA up
2. Retake any classes that you got a C- or below
3. You have a significant upward trend over the span of 4 years which the schools will consider.
4. Usually, schools have a section in their supplemental material where they allow you to explain any extenuating circumstances.

 

[SquareWheels]

Thanks for the advice My only C- or lower grades apart from Math (which I have already repeated) were in Inorganic Chemistry. However, I did get in the B's for Organic and in the A's for Biochemistry. Coupled with a strong General Chemistry section on the DAT's, do you think schools would be willing to overlook the poor first year chem marks? I would gladly re-take them, but I have already graduated. And yes I definitely plan on doing a masters to improve my gap.

As for this supplemental section, what does it consist of? I called a few schools asking about something like this but they didn't really have a lot of details. Is it a written essay explaining my situation? I have all medical/police reports that I will readily submit to AADSAS if thats possible?

Thanks again for the help !

 

[Dentist wannabe]

I went to a Canadian University, recently graduated and according to the calculations on AADSAS, I only have a 3.06 and 3.0 Ogpa and Sgpa, respectively (damn you linear algebra F! Lol) I am writing the Canadian Dat this fall and perhaps in the spring as well if necessary. I'm basically taking the year off to get research experience and build my ECs, as well as making sure I can kill the DAT as I have months of study time.

My case is a bit peculiar. In my first year I did terrible with a GpA of only about 2.0. While not the only reason, I did have some medical issues as I acquired mono once and strep throat twice in a 6 month span. For my second year, I was doing very well and holding an A average when near the end of November I was a victim of an attack by a fellow drunken student while walking home, suffering multiple injuries including a broken jaw that had to be shut tight for 8 weeks. I only missed a few days of school and finished my exams, however doing poorly ( about a B/B- average).

At this point I decided that if I was going to stay in school I better make it worth it, and I finally turned the corner a bit and pulled off a 3.5 in third year and a 3.9 in my last year, with all science courses.

I'm going to be applying to Canada this year ( zero chance) but for next summer I plan on getting my app in the first day available for the states as well as applying to Australia. I also plan on pursuing a one year masters next summer to boost my marks.

My question for you fine folks is if dental schools will cut me some slack considering my situation? Im not looking for any sort of handout, I just was wondering if anyone else here has ever been in this sort of scenario and how they dealt with it/faired. Do I really have any chance at getting in? What schools would perhaps be my best bet apart from the usual suspects BU and NYU that accept a lot of internationals? Any words you can give me both positive and negative are welcome. And if you got this far into reading this without closing the page, thanks

I need to know your average in Percentages to tell you whether you have any chance for Western in Canada. Generally speaking you need a two year GPA 86%+ and a DAT of over 21 AA and over 19 for RC for Schulich.
I know mono sucks as I got the same in the third year university. But your GPA is just too low. Sadly Canadian schools do require a really good GPA, at least in Ontario.
If you could tell me your province of residence I can maybe help you more. But with the stats that you have posted so far, and if you are from Ontario, you have zero chance in Ontario. Do not waste your $500 to apply.
Again if you provide a percentage my recommendation is more accurate. A+=95, A=87 A-= 82, B+= 78 for more schools.
Use this to convert your marks to UWO:
http://www.ouac.on.ca/docs/omsas/c_omsas_b.pdf
Just take the alpha grade from your university, then take the range on the Western percentage scale and divide by two to get the number.

 

[SquareWheels]

I need to know your average in Percentages to tell you whether you have any chance for Western in Canada. Generally speaking you need a two year GPA 86%+ and a DAT of over 21 AA and over 19 for RC for Schulich.
I know mono sucks as I got the same in the third year university. But your GPA is just too low. Sadly Canadian schools do require a really good GPA, at least in Ontario.
If you could tell me your province of residence I can maybe help you more. But with the stats that you have posted so far, and if you are from Ontario, you have zero chance in Ontario. Do not waste your $500 to apply.
Again if you provide a percentage my recommendation is more accurate. A+=95, A=87 A-= 82, B+= 78 for more schools.
Use this to convert your marks to UWO:
http://www.ouac.on.ca/docs/omsas/c_omsas_b.pdf
Just take the alpha grade from your university, then take the range on the Western percentage scale and divide by two to get the number.

Thanks for the help Dentistwannabe, I've spent quite a bit of time actually looking at Western as I am an Ontario resident and unfortunately the odds are highly against me to say the least Ive calculated my best two GPA to be roughly 84%, which I know isn't even strong enough for an interview unless I get a crazy high DAT score. Pretty much, I'm applying to Canada under my parents encouragement that I do my due diligence and at least make an attempt to get in, and I have their full support financially which helps lol. But yea, my parents and I understand that its a very slim chance.

If anybody has any suggestions concerning schools who adjust GPA for masters (I believe I read somewhere Pitts will sub your sciGPA for your masters GPA ?), or other schools I should consider applying, it would be most welcome. Oh and if anybody knows anything about the supplemental apps concerning my health troubles, that'd be great!